The Power of Acknowledgments!

In coaching, we give acknowledgments, which go beyond compliments. They are saying, I see who you really are, and what is inside that guided your actions. Instead of saying, "You played a great game today," one might say, " Today's game was yet another example of how you live your life true to your passions, and put 100% into everything you do. When you didn't give up in the forth quarter, it showed your inner drive and resilience." Acknowledgments are genuine, and compliment inner qualities.

They say what you give, you get back. Lets take that a step further, and say, "When you spot it, you got it." What you acknowledge in others, are the same qualities you possess. These qualities may be lost, or hidden, but they are inside you.

As a Coach for Life Graduate, I experienced the power of acknowledgment from start to finish through all three levels of the Coach for Life Program. My mentors taught in a positive learning model, meaning, no one is recognized for doing wrong, only for their brilliance. I'll never forget my first week in San Diego. I left that week, feeling more confident then I ever have in my life. If I didn't know something, instead of being ridiculed, or getting a big red X on my paper, I realized the correct way, when i saw someone being praised for their brilliance. We built each other up genuinely. We were on top of the world, not by fake compliments, but by our classmates, and teachers truly taking the time to obtain genuine assessments of who we truly were on the inside, what was most important to us, our best self, and how that tied into our life purpose. This is why I love the Positive Learning method, this is why i love Coaching, and this is why I love Coach for Life. I'm so grateful to have experienced this, so now I can pass it on, and pay it forward. See how many people you can genuinely acknowledge this week, and don't forget to acknowledge yourself. So many times in life, we beat ourselves up for what we do wrong, today try to acknowledge what you do right. What you focus on expands.

If you would like to learn more about Peter Reading's Foundation of Inspired Learning, visit http://www.inspiredlearning.org/

This program has been tested in schools all over the country, including Howard County, MD, and Johns Hopkins summer programs. It has been adopted in programs in India, and in California for the adult literacy program, yielding great results. I fully support the program, and have been blessed to have been mentored, and taught by founder Peter Reading (and Marcia Collins,) and look forward to watching this this model continue to impact schools, parenting, coaching, and relationships of all kinds across the world.